[cthomer5000]

Week 3 Review

#14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0) at Connecticut Huskies (1-1)


last meeting: last year we barely won 27-26 at UCONN
series: 7-2 in our favor
coaches poll: Rutgers #14 and Connecticut #59
the betting man says: Rutgers by 3
attendance: 28,600 (of 45,000)
weather: 66 degrees, rainy
TV coverage: TV5

Despite the gloomy weather, there was a positively electric feeling in the locker room just before game time. Ready to make up for last week's lackluster win, my Knights were ready to kick some ass.

We won the coin toss and elected to receive. We started with great field position, our 43 yard line. Our ground game went to work immediately, RB's Claude Altenburger and Jon Burton, as well as QB Seth Duffy ran for 25 yards combined on the first 3 plays. Seth Duffy then hit WR Wesley Kay for a 16 yard gain. Another 15 yard run by Jon Burton had us really moving. A few plays later Seth Duffy found RB Claude Altenburger for a 3 yard toudown. 7-0 Rutgers!

U-Conn pulled to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second we seemed to be deadlocked. Our offense wasn't moving well, U-Conn was playing pretty good defense, and we only led by 4 points. On 3rd and 10 in field goal range Seth Duffy dropped back, then sprinted up the middle on a draw. He juked a linebacker...then a safety... and went 30 yards untouched! 14-3 Rutgers! It would be 17-3 at the half, with us dominating posession and yardage.

On our first drive of the second half RB Jon Burton quickly put us up further with an 8 yard TD run, 24-3. After a quick Husky touchdown, our running game absolutely took over. We'd finish the day with 242 yards and 5 TD's on the ground.

Final Score: Rutgers 45, U-Conn 17


Player of the Week nominees:
RB Claude Altenburger - 17 carries, 98 yards, 2 touchdowns
RB Jon Burton - 14 carries, 93 yards, 2 touchdowns
QB Seth Duffy - 20 of 31, 286 yards, 1 TD 1 INT. 1 rushing touchdown.

Injury Report
still injury free!

Recruiting
I make just one new scholarship offer this week and really shop around for the best available at other positions of need. I also want to be well positioned to make a move if any players reject my offer.

Local Obligation Scholarships
none this season.


Blue-Chip Recruits


1. QB T.J. Houshmandzadeh - #4 QB, #18 player nationally. scouted 75-
6'3" 202 lbs from Philadelphia, PA. Ricky is a big-time passer from an extremely solid program. His proximity to us is amazing (just 49 miles), meaning only the horrible Princeton Tigers are closer. With his focus on distance and academics, this could be a slam-dunk acquistion of our next great QB.
high school stats (after 6 games): 61% completion, 1,403 yds (9.88 avg), 7 TD 0 INT. 667 yards rushing, 6 touchdowns.
offer status:New Mexico has also offered a scholarship

2. DE Winfred Bernard - #8 DE, #27 player nationally. scouted 92-
6'5" 253 lbs from Medford Lakes, NJ. Winfred appears to be a much better run stopper than pass-rusher, despite his somewhat light frame for the position. An excellent student, Winfred is most interested in Academics (Random Number Theory) and distance. Only Princeton is closer to him, so we should be able to lock up his services.
high school stats (after 6 games): 62 tackles, 12 sacks, 1 int.
offer status: no change: Purdue has also offered a scholarship, Ohio State and Washington are showing interest.

3. RB Juan Weydahl - #11 RB, #112 player nationally. scouted 75+
5'9" 184 lbs from Souderton, PA. A deceptively tough runner for his size, Juan appears to be a guy who can carry the load. Coming from a very good school, I'm confident he could become our starter by his 3rd year. His distance and academic preferences put us at the top of his list.
high school stats (through 6 games): 185 carries for 1,254 yards and 9 TD's. 30 catches for 427 yards and 2 TD's.
offer status: no other offers, but interest from Florida, Rice, Syracuse, Tennessee. we're still the top offer.


---other scholarship offers---

G Chris Owens - #2 guard, #34 player nationally. scouted 92+
DT Lee Barnes - #4 DT, #39 player nationally. scouted 94+
T Ralph Stoughton - #9 tackle, #92 player nationally. scouted 78+
CB Todd Nykolaisyn - #3 CB, #29 player nationally. scouted 83+
OLB Doug Cerda - # 3 OLB, #46 player nationally. scouted 78+
K Marc Langford - #7 kicker, #268 player nationally. scouted 90-

new offers:
Safety D.J. Cushenbery - #12 safety, #273 player nationally. scouted 65+



Conference Snapshot
Week 3 Results
---------------
#14 RUTGERS 45, Connecticut 17 [TV5]
TEXAS A&M 24, Pitt 17[TV5]
Miami 10, WASHINGTON 49
WEST VIRGINIA 59, Buffalo 17
Kent 3, #8 VIRGINIA TECH 42
#10 CENTRAL FLORIDA 38, Princeton 3
Western Michigan 7, BOSTON COLLEGE 27